Hamlet Act 5 Scene 1 - Book Report/Review Example

The death of Ophelia becomes a real tragedy for her family and Hamlet. Queen Gertrude cries: "I hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife: I thought thy bride-bed to have, sweet maid" (lines 243-244). The evolution of the emotional perception of the world and values is depicted through the state of grief and madness. On the other hand, this episode shows that everyone is responsible for her own actions and subconscious persuasion has no effects. This causes a lack of coincidence between reality and madness since Ophelia is struggling to suppress her feelings but fails.

Hamlet does not know about the death of his beloved Ophelia but recognizes Queen Gertrude who spreads flowers. "What is he whose griefBears such an emphasis whose phrase of sorrow" (lines 254-255). It becomes a real blow for Hamlet. Psychological pressure works as an agent of continuity, weaving the halo that ruins life: it breaks in on the present and tears life to pieces. The death of Ophelia has a crucial impact on the entire play because it ruins Hamlet's dreams and hopes for Ophelia's family.

Laertes is obsessed with the idea of punishment. He replies: "The devil take thy soul! I prithee, take thy fingers from my throat; / For, though I am not sensitive and rash" (Line 258, 260-261). Laertes supposes that Hamlet is responsible for the death of his sister. Using this setting, Shakespeare underlines that only death shows that people cannot do everything they want acting in their interests only, so death sets some limits to human behavior. It shows the human necessity for survival and the lengths at which a person will go to save his life.

Only the feeling of the intense emotions and guilty could even begin to answer to her struggle with himself over the past. Hamlet comes to know that every moment and every act shares the same fate. All are destined to dissolution, to be swept up and fixed in the complete picture of a terminated existence. This episode prepares the ground for the next scene. The passage shows that death does not reconcile the families but becomes a force for further fights and deaths. The gritty feel of this episode gives an added realistic mood and that might signify the reality of everyday life.

Death results in emotional and psychological disorders for many characters unable to overcome a feeling of guilt and inevitability of punishment.